THE growth of one-wall handball has been gathering pace and 10 schoolchildren will get the opportunity to test themselves against the best of what America has to offer when they travel to New York on February 6.
Pupils from Edmund Rice College, St Dominic’s, St Malachy’s and St Mary’s CBGS will make up the team with nine winning medals in their respective grades at last August’s World One-Wall Handball Championships in Limerick.
In the past, Ireland sent teams to the United States on an annual basis to compete in four-wall handball, but with the Irish becoming more and more dominant, it was felt there was no justification to continue.
That particular format has dwindled in popularity across the pond, but it is far from the case with the one-wall code as it is played widely as a street sport
The Bronx will be the venue and although the Irish-American population in this borough may not be as large as it once was with many having left for the suburbs, it is still where you will find Gaelic Park - the GAA’s spiritual home in the Big Apple.
The Antrim team will be sporting new kits thanks to the sponsorship of Ciaran Murray Jewellers as they get to experience playing in a different environment and forge new links.
“New York is the Mecca of that, internationally,” said team coach, Dan McVicker.
“There are 2500 courts in New York City alone, so it’s very much an urban street game there with money prizes for tournaments and their adult players would be much better than ours.
“I was managing the Irish team in August at the one-wall World Championships in Limerick and saw our best player falling well short against their best. They (US) didn’t have any kids over, but I noticed how our kids were dominating everybody else and felt that if the dial was to move at adult level, we needed to start testing the Irish kids against the American kids. If there is a gap, then we will at least know where it is and playing against better players will make our kids better in the long run.
“If this takes off, then we can maybe look to do it each year on a rotation basis. We are already starting a ‘Ryder Cup-style’ tournament between Europe and the US in November, but I want to do it with kids to see where that gap is.”
In recent times, one-wall courts have been developed in schools with St Dominic’s the latest to open theirs towards the end of last year.
With each new development, others aim to follow and this leads to a continued growth in the popularity of the sport.
To reach the top of any sport, hard work is essential, but for those dipping their toes in one-wall handball, it is not a complicated game to pick up.
“It does take a while to get to grips with the four-wall game, but in a matter of weeks, kids can even have a basic grasp of one-wall,” Dan added.
“It also suits kids who perhaps don’t like the rough and tumble of field sports and we have also found schools commenting that kids with various issues have benefitted from it as there are no real distractions when playing, but just an opponent.
“That they come and train is great, so hopefully they can develop skills like resilience and we’ve even had some who’ve made county development squads in hurling and football with the handball helping them as there are the transferable skills.”
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime trip for the kids and an example of Antrim trying to lead the way and create opportunities that act as recruitment exercises for the sport.
“There are opportunities for trips away to play kids from all over the country or further afield and they tend to keep in touch, so friendships are forged that continue long after the competitions have ended.”
